Kathy's Remodeling Blog

From boring patio to tropical delight . . . and on a budget

You may have seen the delightful sunroom above if you read Home magazine, where this picture appeared on the cover.

If not, I'd like to introduce you to this wonderfully economic makeover.

The house is in Miami Lakes, Fla., and is owned by interior stylist Maria Fernanda Molinari and her husband, Rafael R. Lopez.

You can see the room after (top photo) and before (bottom photo).

 When the couple bought the house, this space was little more than a bland covered patio with a tile floor.

After the transformation, the space exudes an exotic classiness, yet done on a budget. Of particular note:

• The seating platforms are simply plywood boxes topped with bed mattresses. Isn't that so amazing? You have places to sit, with the side tables built in, and also places for guests to sleep if necessary.

 • Also, note the coffee table. It is likewise made of plywood covered with seagrass mats on the sides.

Where the money went for platforms and coffee table

Plywood and molding used to make daybeds and coffee table - $232

Wood stain - $30

Twin mattresses - $110

Slipcover fabric - $70

Seagrass mat (inset on coffee table) - $1

To see the whole article and a full list of costs, go here.

Plus, Maria has made the building plans for the platform seating available for purchase for $5. Go here to buy the plans.

(Photos: Home magazine)

Where the Money Went: Fitzgerald bathroom

This bathroom remodel is a little different than most because homeowner Cindy Fitzgerald just happened to have a good friend who happened to be an interior designer who happened to have just redone her own upscale bathroom and who happened to have some upscale materials left over, which she offered to Cindy.

We won't all have that opportunity. I'm not sure I even have an well-to-do friends anymore. But that's what happened here. 

The most important item on the list below is the cost for the countertop material. As you'll see, when you buy solid-surface countertop (like Corian) for a custom top, you often have to buy a whole slab of it, which is a waste of money and material when you only need a small amount. The same is true for a slab of granite. I've met a few homeowners with partial slabs of granite in their garages leftover from small projects. The remedy is to find a partial piece and not buy a whole slab.

Below are the actual costs for the bathroom shown above. Read the story. See more pictures. And see lists of costs from other projects.

	Recovered Material Cost	Material Cost  (if purchased Retail)
Countertop	$300	$800	(min. 80 sq. ft)
Cabinet	$0	$200
Italian ceramic floor tile	$0	$660	($22 sq. ft x 30)
Glass tile (shower /tub)	$0	$2,304	($24 sq ft x 96)
Labor	$10,000	(including stone fabrication)
Fixtures	$3,800
Shower door	$1,100
Recovered Materials Cost:	$300
	$15,200	(TOTAL ACTUAL COST)
	$3,964.00	(TOTAL SAVINGS)

(Photos: Los Angeles Times)

Where the money went: Rosarito Beach condo remodel

How Don and Gigi Maurizio spent the money on their Rosarito Beach remodel:

Construction

Demolition: $3,000

Scraping textured plaster walls: $500 (labor)

Staining beams: $500 (labor)

Cabinets: $7,200 (materials)

Tankless hot-water system and connections: $1,800 (materials)

Tile for floor, patio, shower and bath countertop, including grout: $7,700 (materials)

Granite countertop in kitchen: $2,000 (materials and labor)

Tube-type skylights for bathrooms: $500 (materials)

Glass block for windows, shower: $250 (materials)

Exterior doors, windows, screens: $2,000 (materials and labor)

Interior doors and hardware: $2,100 (materials)

Mirrors, mirrored closet doors: $700 (materials and labor)

Closet shelving systems: $300 (materials)

Sinks, toilets: $1,000 (materials)

Plumbing fixtures: $900 (materials)

Lighting, bathroom fans: $1,900 (materials)

Forced-air heater, ductwork and specialized vent covers: $2,000 (materials and labor)

Window coverings, shutters: $1,000 (materials)

Appliances: $3,200 (materials)

Fireplace gas logs and propane adapter: $340 (materials and labor)

Change/move plumbing and gas lines: $1,200 (materials and labor)

New electrical wiring, outlets and switches: $1,100 (materials and labor)

Painting: $1,500 (materials and labor)

Additional labor: $5,000

Miscellaneous and hardware: $5,200

Related costs

Duty fees to declare items at the border: $1,000

Gasoline/insurance for weekly trips: $4,000

Termite fumigation: $200

Lodging until condo was habitable: $2,000

Furniture and electronics: $6,800

TOTAL: $66,890

Where the money went: Hollywood Hills kitchen

There are many creative ways to pull together a remodel.

For this recent Hollywood Hills kitchen renovation, homeowners Renata Kanclerz and Lisa Coleman bought appliances and other materials on their own and then paid their contractor a flat fee for all labor and installation.

Here's how much the homeowners paid for various features in this kitchen (not including installation):

GE undercounter refrigerator: $990
Dishwasher: $1,000
CaesarStone counters: $2,580
Lifestone floor tiles: $2,000
Sink: $970
Faucet: $713
Viking range: $5,330
Range hood: $1,160
Refrigerator: $2,060

(Prices are approximate)

See more photos and the full story

Where the money went: Carl Balton's Mar Vista remodel

Here's where the money went for Carl Balton's Mar Vista remodel, featured in a previous post:

Electrician: $1,060
Plumber: $550 (plus one snake aquarium)
Wood floor refinishing: $1,300
Trash hauling: $270
Friends' labor: $3,734
Bathroom fixtures, vanity: $2,000
Tile and countertop: $1,260
Tile setter: $660
Bathroom counter: $800
Shower curtain and track: $295
Bathroom materials: $703
French door: $1,605
Interior paint, moldings: $1,754
Fireplace repair: $1,600
Lighting: $767
Exterior paint: $812
Landscaping: $2,656
Ironwork, cabinetry : $614
Construction materials: $2,680

Total: $25,120

How to remodel a kitchen and add a new dining room for $27,642

While showing off her new kitchen/dining room addition one evening, Lily Richards explained to me why she and her husband, Arnie, never considered hiring a contractor to oversee the project.

"We're kind of conservative financially. . . ," Lily began.

"We're cheap," Arnie broke in. And, he added, "We're too egocentric."

What's more, the couple didn't even hire subcontractors like drywallers, framers or electricians to do the work, choosing instead to take on every task themselves, including Arnie's worst nightmare: plumbing.

"I detest plumbing," said Arnie, a director of quality at Mattel toy company. "I'm no good at it. I'm lousy at it."

Indeed, he cursed so furiously over his plumbing duties during the project last year that, Lily, a secretary in Mattel's Hot Wheels division, said, "I can't listen to this anymore," and threatened to call in a professional plumber.

"Don't," Arnie implored. "I won't let this beat me."

Read more about this remodel
See where the money went
Read about other real remodels

(Photos: LORI SHEPLER / Los Angeles Times)

Losing a garage, gaining a workshop

When Chantal Dussouchaud and Harry Dolman bought this Hollywood Hills home, they had one major objection to it: the massive driveway that dominated the entire front of the house.

Part of the couple's reaction stemmed from the fact that they had been living in Paris (they are both European natives), where the car culture is much less pronounced than in Southern California.

To them, the driveway was nothing less than shocking, and all the more so because Chantal wanted to convert the existing garage into a workshop for her interior design business and to build a carport on the other side of the house, as was required by codes.

Then, the driveway would be totally useless.

So they did a radical thing: they took out the driveway and replaced it with lawn, an olive tree and a gravel walkway lined with lavender. Did they do the right thing? Or did they hurt the overall value of the home?

Read the whole story on the next page

Charles Chang's victory: From junkyard to gem

A Long Beach fixer-upper is transformed into a keeper--on a budget of $45,000.

Charles Chang struggled with opposing desires when he set out to become a first-time homeowner: to save money by buying a fixer-upper and maintain his tranquil lifestyle.

"I'm in sales, so I'm always looking for a deal," said Chang, 30, a district manager for a computer company. On the other hand, he said: "I'm a drama-free person."

So when Chang contemplated buying a dilapidated, junk-strewn Long Beach rental property that his father owned, he worried it "might be too much stress for me." But after a contractor completed a six-week, $45,000, front-to-back, floor-to-roof renovation that required little of Chang's time, the new homeowner decided that sometimes remodeling "is not a bad experience."

The impetus for buying a house came about in 2000 when Chang moved from a two-bedroom apartment into a one-bedroom unit to be closer to the beach in Belmont Heights. Around that time, he started a new job that doubled his income--and his taxes. Operating from a home office, he set up his desk in the living room, but soon wearied of that setup.

(Photo: LUIS SINCO, Los Angeles Times)

David Kean bought it bland, made it grand

When David Kean set out to buy his first home, he was looking for two things: old and charming. He envisioned thick crown molding and hardwood floors.

But there was a glitch in his plan.

"Old and charming was too expensive," said Kean, 36, who works as a real estate agent.

Plus, he explained, he was concerned that an old house would have expensive electrical, plumbing and structural problems.

So he did the next best thing.
"I decided to buy new and add the charm," he said.

The two-bedroom, two-story condominium Kean bought near downtown L.A. in 2001 for $270,000 was remarkable for its lack of personality. The living and dining rooms were combined into one bland rectangle with beige carpeting and identical picture windows at each end.

"You could literally walk in the front door and see all the way through," he said.

(Photo: LAWRENCE K. HO, Los Angeles Times)

Where the money went: DIY luxury kitchen

Here's the best-looking DIY kitchen I've seen yet. No offense to the other DIY kitchens I've had the pleasure of meeting. They all had their charms.

But this Los Angeles kitchen is so luscious. So strikingly handsome. The project took Liese and David 18 months, which is an awful long time to wash dishes in the bathtub. But the results are stunning.The kitchen cost $29,115 with the couple performing all the labor, nights and weekends, as well as doing some artful shopping. If you have any questions about how this kitchen was created, I might be able to persuade Liese and David to log on and give some answers.

Here's a list of where the money went:

Cabinets: $15,000
Cabinet door glass: $300
Cabinet hardware: $360
Windows: $1,000
Electrical supplies: $200
Plumbing supplies: $100
Counter tile: $1,700
Floor tile: $500
Tile cutter rental: $100
Tile-related supplies: $320
Sink: $700
Faucets, sink hardware: $350
Stove: $1,000
Stove hood: $550
Refrigerator: $2,000
Dishwasher: $1,000
Microwave: $100
Wine cooler: $1,000
Tankless water heater: $1,100
Side door: $200
Door hardware, fittings: $175
Butcher block table: $400
Pot rack: $160
Window blinds: $800

Total cost: $29,115

What do you think of this kitchen?

(See more pictures and read the full story by clicking the "Read more" link below)